Bleep

Special Request (Paul Woolford) has been enjoying himself of late. From the Vortex LP to the archival Bedroom Tapes collection, all of Woolford’s drops this year have been suffused with a sense of free-spirited fun. On this new Special Request & Fwends EP it seems that the feeling is infectious. Here we find Mall Grab and Sully let plenty loose on their remixes of Vortex’s almost-title-track, a sense of carefree abandon leading both artists to create some hefty DJ tools.

Mall Grab has been moving away from the lo-fi house sound of his early releases for some time now, and his entry on Special Request & Fwends continues that trend. His take on ‘Vortex 135’ - Special Request’s slowed-down version of ‘Vortex 150’ that came out on limited-run vinyl early this year - is the sort of rough and ready techno joint that we’d expect to crop up in a DJ Stingray mix. Select atmospheric aspects of Woolford’s original are removed here, creating a space in which slamming kick drums can do maximum damage.

Sully jacks up the bpm to 164 on his remix, a tempo that suits Special Request’s revivalist rave sound very nicely indeed. Anyone who’s clocked the mind-melting jungle joints Sully has been issuing of late will know what they’re in for here, but regardless of whether you’re a seasoned veteran or relative newbie the way that Sully upends ‘Vortex’ in the service of drum ‘n’ bass remains a wild ride.

Special Request & Fwends is another deliriously gleeful club dispatch from the Paul Woolford universe.